Sinkhole risk in Rockcastle County, KY: Pockets of it

Pockets of it

Soluble rock at the surface or under thin cover in part of the county.

On soluble rock: 39%
At or near the surface: 39%
Buried under cover: 0%

What this means before you buy

Check the parcel against your state survey sinkhole map, and ask for an inspection if cracks, depressions or sticking doors show up.

That works out to roughly 124 of Rockcastle County's 317 square miles on soluble rock, 124 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 16,226 residents (51 per square mile), much of the land is open, and the mapped rock may sit far from where people actually live. The figures come from 608 map points about 0.7 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: the signs to look for and how an inspection works, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Rockcastle County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Garrard County, KY, about 23 miles northwest, close enough that the same rock may run under the county line. 2 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

Jackson County, KY 16 mi east · 13% at surface
Lincoln County, KY 20 mi west · 42% at surface
Laurel County, KY 20 mi southeast · under 1% at surface
Garrard County, KY 23 mi northwest · 51% at surface
Pulaski County, KY 23 mi southwest · 60% at surface
Madison County, KY 25 mi north · 46% at surface

Which formation it is

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis Limestones, undivided (limestone), Mississippian in age, covering about 14% of the county. Next is the Pennington Formation (Paragon Formation), Bangor Limestone, Hartselle Formation, and Kidder Limestone Member of Monteagle Limestone, undivided at 10%.

Against the rest of Kentucky

Rockcastle County ranks 56 of 120 in Kentucky for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 84% of US counties on that measure.